A thread for the conspiracy theorists: Pres. Trump has spent months trying to convince Americans that COVID-19 isn't a threat and that he is physically healthier than his opponent. His diagnosis severely undermines two of his main reelection arguments. 1/7

If the president wanted an excuse to skip further debates, he already laid that groundwork with his baseless claims that Biden was using drugs and an earpiece. Faking an illness wouldn't make sense. 2/7

Folks who've been following Trump for years (like me) know he regards physical illness or disability as a personal weakness. That's why he illegally ordered the Braille panels removed from the elevators of Trump Tower, pronouncing that blind people would never live there. 3/7

The president's conflation of physical well being with personal strength is why it's easy to believe he would call fallen soldiers "losers," or why he wouldn't be appalled by losing 200,000 Americans to a disease under his watch. 4/7

Human nature makes us disbelieve that someone as powerful as the POTUS can be hurt by random things. That's why many people can't believe a dumb schmuck could kill JFK by himself (I've opened a can of worms here, but it's true). The fact is, presidents are just people. 5/7

Doctors warned all along that going to crowded places where infection rates are high and no one is wearing masks is a recipe for getting this disease. That's exactly what the president has done. His contracting COVID-19 is in no way fishy. If anything, the reverse would be. 6/7

My prayers are with the first family, and with all families suffering from this dreadful disease. 7/7